tarting from zero, my Level 1 IT certification project

Posted on 26 2026

I’ve been quietly working through a structured IT certification project for about a year and I figured it was time to actually write about it. This post is the first in a series documenting the whole journey, starting at the beginning: Level 1 certifications.

The idea behind Level 1s is simple. Before you specialise, you need a solid foundation across the landscape of IT. These are the “fundamentals” and “essentials” certs, the ones that prove you know what cloud computing is, what cybersecurity looks like, and how modern productivity platforms fit together. They’re not glamorous, but they matter.

This is after amassing over a decade of experience in IT which includes professionally, trying to set up enterprises (and failing, I’ll write about that too at some point), but that experience isn’t as valuable if you cannot prove it.

What I’ve already achieved

I’ve completed twelve Level 1 certifications so far, spanning CompTIA, Microsoft, GitHub, and ISC2.

CompTIA

  • ITF+
  • A+
  • Network+
  • Security+

Microsoft Azure

  • AZ-900 Fundamentals
  • DP-900 Data Fundamentals
  • AI-900 AI Fundamentals
  • AI-901 Microsoft AI Fundamentals
  • SC-900 Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals

Microsoft 365 & Power

  • PL-300 Power Platform Fundamentals
  • MS-900 Microsoft 365 Fundamentals

GitHub & ISC2

  • GitHub Foundations
  • GitHub Copilot
  • ISC2 CC

I went for the broad spread intentionally. The Microsoft Azure stack gives you cloud fundamentals from multiple angles: infrastructure, data, AI, and security. CompTIA focuses on principles instead of proprietary tech and is vendor-neutal. GitHub certs reflect how modern development actually works. And the ISC2 CC is a solid entry point into cybersecurity as a discipline.

What I’m doing next

The roadmap from here is a bit more varied. These are the Level 1 certs I’m actively working towards, with exam dates already scheduled or approaching.

Microsoft Copilot & Agent Administration Fundamentals (AB-900) Covers AI agent deployment and administration within the Microsoft ecosystem.

Microsoft Business Professionals (AB-730) & AI Transformation Leader (AB-731) Two newer certs focused on AI adoption in business contexts.

Dynamics 365 Fundamentals: CRM (MB-910) & ERP (MB-920) Rounding out the Microsoft stack with business applications.

CCST Networking & CCST Cybersecurity Cisco’s entry-level certifications, building out networking and security coverage.

CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ Vendor-neutral cloud fundamentals to complement the Azure stack.

ITIL Foundation IT service management framework, broadly useful across roles.

But why Level 1s?

There’s a temptation to skip straight to the “impressive” certs. But fundamentals exist for a reason in that they encourage going into areas you might otherwise ignore, and they give you a shared vocabulary with people across different specialisms. Whether you end up in cloud, security, networking, or something else, you’ll have context for how the other pieces fit together.

I’ll be writing individual posts about each certification as I go through them, covering what I studied, what the exam was actually like, and whether I’d recommend it. If you’re also working through a certification project, I’d love to hear about it.